Fluid applying and drying apparatus for treating coils



c. .c. POULSON 2,890,679

FLUID APPLYING AND DRYING APPARATUS FOR TREATING COIL-S I June 16, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 14. 1955 June 16, 1959 C. C. POULSON FLUID APPLYING AND DRYING APPARATUS FOR TREATING COILS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 14. 1955 e 2,890,679 1C6 Patented Jun 1959 FLUID APPLYING AND DRYING APPARATUS FOR TREATING COILS Clair C. Pouls'on, Lincoln, Nebn, assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application July 14, 1955, Serial No. 522,026

6 Claims. (Cl. 118-642) This invention relates to fluid applying and drying apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for automatically dipping and drying coils.

An object of this invention is to provide a device for automatically applying fluid to coils and drying them.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for uniformly drying wet coils.

One embodiment of the invention may include a pair of vertical heat conductive sheets between which wet coils are carried. An electrical heating element having portions secured to both sheets is provided for heating the sheets to uniformly dry the coils carried therebetween.

An apparatus illustrating the invention more specifically mayinclude an intermittently operated rotatable table having a plurality of depending magnets for carrying coils to be dipped and dried. A tank of acetone is lifted to dip the coils when they are moved into position above the tank. After the coils have been dipped the tank is lowered and the table is moved to bring the next coil into position above the tank and to move the dipped coil between a pair of arcuate, heat conductive plates which are heated by an electrical heating element. These plates conduct the heat upward from the heating element to thoroughly dry the coil as it is moved between the plates.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description thereof and the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device showing a pair of coils held in dipping position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1' showing the manner in which the coils are carried over the tank and between the heated sheets by the magnets; I

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the heat conductive sheets and the heating element are mounted on the insulating blocks; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical view of one of the sheets showing the manner in which the sheet is laced to the heating element with a heat conductive wire.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a table 11 having'a plurality ofperipheral recesses 12 is shown rotatably mounted on a raised portion 13 of a base 15. A motor 16 operates a gear reduction unit 17 which drives a gear 18 secured to the table 11 for actuating it. A plurality of L-shaped members 21 secured to the table 11 have portions 23 depending through the recesses 12 in the table 11. A plurality of vertical bar magnets 24 are secured to the depending portions 23 by horizontal clamping bars 25 bolted thereto and having notches 27 which receive the magnets 24 to hold them between the clamping bars 25 and the depending portions 23. Iron core coils 28 to be dipped and dried are manually placed in engagement with the lower ends (Fig. 2) of the magnets 24 which then carry the coils 28 through the dipping and drying operations.

A tank 29 containing acetone in which the coils 28 are dipped is secured to a plate 31 which is slidably supported between a pair of upright members 32 secured to the base 15 whereby the tank 29 can be raised to' submerge the pair of coils 28 supported above the tank by one of the pairs of magnets 24. A chain 33 secured at one end to the plate 31 passes over a pulley 35 supported above the base 15 and is secured at its other end to a counterweight 36 which weighs slightly less than the tank of acetone. A lifting chain 38 secured to the plate 31 passes over the pulley 35 and is secured to a lever 39 mounted on the base 15. A disc 40 mounted above the base 15 and rotated by a motor 42 has a. cam portion 43 which engages a lug 44 on the lever 39 to pivot it counterclockwise (Fig. 2) to lift the tank 29 and thus dip the coils 28 which are held above the tank. As the cam portion 43 clears the lug 44 the tank 29 is lowered by its own weight, since it is slightly heavier than the counterweight 36.

A cam 46 secured to the rotating disc 40 and angularly spaced from the cam portion 43 engages an actuator 47 of a normally open switch 48 mounted on" the base 15 and connected to the motor 16 to close the switch 48 and thus actuate the motor to rotate the table clockwise (Fig. 1) after the acetone tank 29 has been lowered. A normally. closed switch 50 mounted above the base 15 and connected to the -motor 16 in parallel with the normally open switch 48 (so that the table 11 will be rotated when either switch is closed) is opened by a lever 51 having a roller 52 which engages a plurality of camming surfaces 54 on the periphery of the table 11. The cam 46 on the disc 40 clears the switch actuator 47 and permits the switch 48 to open before the roller 52 engages the camming surface 54, thus insuring that the motor 16 will be deenergized and movement of the table 11 will be stopped when the normally closed switch 50 is opened by one of the camming surfaces 54 (since both switches will then be open). The normally closed switch- 50 is positioned to stop the table 11 with a pair of coils 56 is held on the blocks 57 by a plurality of flat insulators 58, which are bolted to the insulating blocks 57. A pair of vertical heat conductive sheets 60 which are flared outward at the ends extend into slots 61 in the blocks 57 and are secured to the parallel portions of the heating element 56 by copper wires 62 which are laced through small holes 64 in the sheets 60 and around the heating element 56 whereby the sheets60 follow the arcuate contours of the parallel portions of the heating element 56.- The heating element 56 and the sheets 60 are so 'spaced and arranged that wet coils 28 depending from" the magnets 24 will be carried between the sheets 60 for drying, these sheets conducting heat upwardly from.

the heating element 56 to uniformly dry the coils. A nozzle 65 is provided for directing a stream of air onto the coils 28 to break the surface tension of any acetone which might be accumulated thereon to thus improve the drying operation. The device is enclosed in a hood 66 which is open at one side to provide access to the magnets at the loading and unloading station. An exhaust fan 68 driven by a motor 69 removes acetone fumes from the device (Fig. 2) through a pipe 70.

In operation, coils 28 to be dipped and dried are manually placed on the magnets 24 as the table 11 is intermittently operated. The motor 42 rotates the disc 40 to move the cam 46 and close the normally open the motor 16 is actuated to move the table 11. When the roller 52 is at a position between the camming surfaces 54 on the table 11, the cam 46 clears the actuator 47 and the normally open switch 48 opens. The table 11 continues to move until the roller 52' engages the next camming surface 54 to open the normally closed switch 50, thus disabling the motor 16' andstopping the table 11 with a pair of coils 28 held above the acetone tank 29. The cam portion 43 on the rotating disc 44) then engages the lug 44 on the lever 39 and pivots it counterclockwise (Fig. 2) to raise'the tank 29 until the coils 28 are submerged inthe acetone. The acetone tank 29 is then lowered by its own weight as the cam portion 43 clears the lug 44. The cam 46 then engages the switch actuator 47 and the above procedure is repeated. The nozzle 58 directs a stream of air onto the coils 28 as they leave the dipping position to break the surface tension of any acetone thereon and thus speed the drying operation. The coils 28 are carried between the heat conductive sheets 56 and are dry when they pass from between these sheets at the open side of the hood 6t), whereupon the operator removes them.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for applying fluid to and drying paramagnetic articles, comprising a movable table, means for moving the table, a plurality of magnets secured to the table for carrying articles along a predetermined path, means for applying a fluid to the articles in one portion of the path, a nozzle for directing a stream of air onto the articles to break the surface tension of fluid thereon, a pair of heat conductive sheets adjacent to the moving wet articles, and an electrical heater for heating the sheets to dry the articles.

2. A device for dipping and drying articles, comprising a base, a movable table supported above the base, means for intermittently moving the table, a plurality of magnets depending from the table for carrying articles, a fluid-containing tank beneath the path of travel of the articles, means for raising the tank to submerge the articles in the fluid, means for directing a stream of air onto said dipped articles to break the surface tension of the fluid thereon, a plurality of insulating members mounted on the base, a pair of heat conductive sheets mounted on the insulating members and positioned on opposite sides of the path of travel of the wet articles, and an electrical heater for heating the sheets to uniformly dry the articles carried therebetween, said electrical heater being mounted on the insulating members and secured to the heat conductive sheets.

3. A device for drying wet articles, comprising a base, means for carrying wet articles along a predetermined path above the base, a plurality of insulating blocks secured to the base beneath the path of travel of the wet articles, a pair of heat conductive sheets mounted on the insulating blocks and positioned on opposite sides I of the path of travel of the wet articles, an electrical heating element mounted on the insulating blocks and having portions in engagement with the heat conductive sheets for heating them to dry the articles, said sheets having a plurality of rows of small apertures above and below the heating element, and a plurality of wires laced through said small apertures and around the heating element to secure it to said sheets.

4. A device for drying wet articles, comprising a base, means for carrying wet articles along a predetermined path above the base, a plurality of slotted insulating blocks secured to the base beneath the path of travel of the wet articles, a pair of spaced vertical heat conductive sheets having. their lowermost edges secured in the slots in the insulating blocks, said blocks and sheets being so arranged that the sheets are held on opposite sides of the path of travel of the wet articles, an electrical heating element mounted on the insulating blocks and having portions in engagement with said heat conductive sheets for heating them to dry the wet articles, means for securing the heating element on said blocks, said sheets having a plurality of rows of small apertures above and below the heating element, and a plurality of heat conductive wires laced through said small apertures and around the heating element to secure it to said sheets.

' 5. A device for dipping and drying an article, comprising a base, a movable table on the base, means on the table for supporting an article in a position depending from the table, means on the base for intermittently moving the table to carry the article along a path from a loading station, a fluid-containing tank movably mounted on the base beneath said path and adjacent to the loading station, means operable in timed relationship with the table moving means for lifting the tank to submerge the article in the fluid between movements of the table, and a pair of heated heat conductive sheets positioned on opposite sides of the path and extending from the tank to the end of the path for drying the article after it is submerged in the fluid.

6. A device for dipping and drying an article, comprising a base, a movable table mounted on the base, magnetic means on the table for holding an article in a position depending from the table, means on the base for moving the table to carry the article from a loading station along a path, a fluid-containing tank movably mounted on the base beneath the path and adjacent to the loading station, means on the base for moving the tank into said path to dip the article, a pair of heat conductive sheets positioned on opposite sides of the path and extending from the tank to the end of the path, and means for heating. the sheets to dry the dipped article.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,141,339 Hodgson June 1, 1915 1,948,091 Alvey et al. Feb. 20, 1934 2,329,024 Albright Sept. '1, 1943 2,529,488 Coppock Nov. 14, 1950 2,591,557 Kraay et al. Apr. 1, 1952 2,690,731 Gaiser Oct. 5, 1954 

